The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

I really like reading books by foreign authors. I picked this one up because I have heard that it was good and it takes place in Sweden. I like reading books that take place in locations I have been to in Europe or places I would like to visit. This one takes quite a while to get going. About half way through the book things really begin to pick up. I have picked up the next book in this...more

I really like reading books by foreign authors. I picked this one up because I have heard that it was good and it takes place in Sweden. I like reading books that take place in locations I have been to in Europe or places I would like to visit. This one takes quite a while to get going. About half way through the book things really begin to pick up. I have picked up the next book in this trilogy and plan to see the Swedish films long before I see the "Americanized" movies they plan to make.   hide

Interesting, hard to put down book. Loved it.

I was annoyed by the cliche-ridden prose while reading this book, which could probably be the fault of the translator. But that is not the only reason why I give this popular book a low rating, I found it much longer than it should be (long pages of dull information) and then when it started happening, I found it way too dark and very visual (which is here a matter of personal taste). I won't be...more

I was annoyed by the cliche-ridden prose while reading this book, which could probably be the fault of the translator. But that is not the only reason why I give this popular book a low rating, I found it much longer than it should be (long pages of dull information) and then when it started happening, I found it way too dark and very visual (which is here a matter of personal taste). I won't be waiting in line for the last book in the trilogy, for sure!   hide

Read this one after the sequel - the girl who played with fire. So I knew the characters, the plot, the outcome based on references in the sequel. Also read this book too soon after I read the sequel. Read it in a day and that says a lot of the book, but didnt have the same punch as the "...fire" for me. And I know it is my fault. So for now I am going to wait for some time to read the trilogy...more

Read this one after the sequel - the girl who played with fire. So I knew the characters, the plot, the outcome based on references in the sequel. Also read this book too soon after I read the sequel. Read it in a day and that says a lot of the book, but didnt have the same punch as the "...fire" for me. And I know it is my fault. So for now I am going to wait for some time to read the trilogy "..hornet's nest" - wait for the paperback to be released and read it after 6 months. But for those who have not read the series, these books are awesome.   hide

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson is probably one of the better books that I have read this year. If you have a penchant for flawed characters, this book is riddled with them. Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander, the novel's two main characters, don't meet until more than half the book is over, but that doesn't diminish this book's impact. The bulk...more

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson is probably one of the better books that I have read this year. If you have a penchant for flawed characters, this book is riddled with them. Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander, the novel's two main characters, don't meet until more than half the book is over, but that doesn't diminish this book's impact. The bulk of the book consists of a re-imagining of the classic closed-door mystery. While the first fifty or so pages move at a leisurely pace, the novel soon advances rapidly, ending at a near meteoric pace until the climax. Be warned though, this novel is not for the faint of heart; there are some graphic scenes that could bother some readers. But overall, this is an enjoyable read, and I am eagerly awaiting the final two books in the Millennium Trilogy. Starts off a little slow, but stick with it and you won't be disappointed. Can be a little rough in some parts for some more squeamish readers, but is overall a good read. This book starts off a little slow, but stick with it and you won't regret it. A reimagining of the classic locked-room mystery, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is actually two mysteries in one. It's more of a story-within-a-story, like Shakespeare's play-within-a-play, "The Taming of the Shrew." There are a few disturbing bits that some more squeamish readers may not like, but overall, a very good story.   hide

This book was fabulous - although a little risque and extremely graphic (possibly the result of its translation from Swedish). Written in 2004, parts could have been ripped from today's headlines. A fabulous murder mystery. It's a shame Stieg Larsson passed away because he was well on his way to becoming an internationally best selling author! This book started off a little...more

This book was fabulous - although a little risque and extremely graphic (possibly the result of its translation from Swedish). Written in 2004, parts could have been ripped from today's headlines. A fabulous murder mystery. It's a shame Stieg Larsson passed away because he was well on his way to becoming an internationally best selling author! This book started off a little slow, but after about page 35, I was hooked. The book really sucked me in and I couldn't put it down. Have to admit, I did not like the ending, however.   hide

The girl herself is a wonderfully drawn and appealing character that makes this book. She is a young petite hacker/researcher/misanthrope with a photographic memory. Less interesting is the other main character, an investigative reporter. They end up together researching a locked-room (actually island-bound) murder from 40 years ago. The actual resolution is a total shaggy dog,...more

The girl herself is a wonderfully drawn and appealing character that makes this book. She is a young petite hacker/researcher/misanthrope with a photographic memory. Less interesting is the other main character, an investigative reporter. They end up together researching a locked-room (actually island-bound) murder from 40 years ago. The actual resolution is a total shaggy dog, but the motley cast of characters and plot twists in the meantime result in an engaging page-turner. Looking forward to the other two novels in the series, praying that the series stars Lisbeth. Last sentence: She tossed Elvis into a dumpster.   hide

I think I've found a new addiction in Stieg Larsson's trilogy, beginning with this unputdownable book. Disturbing but fascinating story that centers on a decades-old unsolved mystery being tracked by a Swedish journalist and his asocial savant research assistant. Can't wait to get the second in the series, The Girl Who Played with Fire. The third, Castles in the Sky, is due to...more

I think I've found a new addiction in Stieg Larsson's trilogy, beginning with this unputdownable book. Disturbing but fascinating story that centers on a decades-old unsolved mystery being tracked by a Swedish journalist and his asocial savant research assistant. Can't wait to get the second in the series, The Girl Who Played with Fire. The third, Castles in the Sky, is due to come out in English in the next year or so...fans of Henning Mankell, another wonderful Swedish mystery novelist, will appreciate this edgier, more contemporary set of characters.   hide

I could have lived without the first 1/2 of the book but the remainder was very suspenseful and unexpected.